middleton



May 19, 1931. H. N. MIDDLETON,

I ELIMINATOR Filed Feb. 6 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 weni'on' mm witness:

az/M/xzw May 19, 1931. H. N. MIDDLETON ELIMINATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1926 I II fiweniv 1 Patented May 19, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY N. MIDDLETON, OF WFSTVILLE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO B. I. STUBTEV'ANT COMPANY, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS mmmaron Application filed February 6, 1926. Serial No. 86,474.

The present invention relates to apparatus for removing particles of solid or liquid foreign matter from air currents.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple yet eflicient apparatus by which solid or liquid particles may be eliminated from induced currents of air, which may be readily cleaned after an accumulation of solid or liquid matters thereon, and which is particularly adapted for use where sticky materials, such as paint, are to be removed.

With this object in view the present invention consists in the apparatus hereinafter described and more particularly defined in the claims.

The present invention is herein illustrated and described as embodied in an apparatus for spray-painting metal articles, which op? eration, owing to the tenacious, adhesive properties of the materials employed, is

liable to give rise to excessive accumulations of paint and dust in the exhaust ducts and 'on the fan, tending to reduce the effective di- 25 ameter of the air passages and to unbalance the moving parts of the system. The invention comprises essentially an eliminating chamber which includes a mass of material on which the particles of foreign matter may collect while permitting passage of the air current through the exhaust ducts and the fan without excessive obstruction. In order that efiicient maintenance of operation may be assured, provision is made for convenient cleaning from the eliminator of accumulations of foreign matter which may collect therein, an operation which, according to the present invention, is facilitated by a construction whereby separate sections or portions of the mass may be readily removed from or replaced in the eliminator, independently of the remainder.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a front view of a spray apparatus employed in connection with a spray or dust eliminator embodying the features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation of the spray or dust elimipaint into the interior.

nator, and Fig. 4 is a front sectional eleva- I nicates directly with an overhead exhaust I chamber 10 which in turn communicates with an exhaust passage 12 connected to a duct 14.

The duct 14 may connect with any number of exhaust pipes 12 for connection with a plurallty of spray booths, and an induced draft of air will be created by an exhaust fan or in other'convenient manner and of the proper magnitude to convey from the spray booth any particles of dust or liquid spray which may be suspended therefrom.

In order to eliminate from the air current the particles of dust and spray which emerge from the booth 6, there is interposed between the exhaust chamber and the pipe 12 an eliminator chamber 16 enclosing a mass to which the particles of solid and liquid matter may adhere, while providing interstices through which the exhaust air may pass by tortuous paths into the exhaust pipe 12.

According to the preferred form of the present invention, the mass to which the particles of foreign matter adhere comprises a series of staggered rows of depending. chains 18. Each row of chains is suspended from a T support 20 and the various supports are in turn supported by aseries of co-operating inverted T irons 22, which are secured by angle irons 24 to the upper part of the framework of the eliminator chamber. The chamber itself is of angle iron construction and has side doors 26, bolted at each side, which may be removed to gain access to the interior. By removing either of the doors 26, access is obtained to the interior of the chamber, so that one or more rows of chains may be readily removed by sliding them outwardly on their supports in an obvious manner. The

staggered relation of the various rows of chains is clearly indicated in Fig. 4:, which shows in the major portion of the figure the front row of chains, and at the right hand side of the figure the next successive rows of chains, a portion of the view of the front Ehains being broken away at this side of the larger than the area of the exhaust pipe 12 so as not to cause excessive resistance to the pamage of air therethrough.

The current of air through the eliminator is broken up into a number of small streams by the deflecting action of the' chains, the latter serving to catch any particles of solid or liquid material which may be carried out of the spray booth by the air. The adhesion of the liquid aint to the chains forms a back ing to whic particles of dust may attach themselves to prevent the passageof either dust or spray into the exhaust pipe 12 where it might accumulate to decrease the effective diameter of the exhaust passage, or be passed on to the fan where it might unbalance the moving parts of the system.

When the chains become covered with a sufficient quantity of residue they may be convenientlv removed from the chamber to have the residue cleaned therefrom by burning or by chemical action. The invention provides for convenient independent removal from the chamber of any one or several rows of chains, thus facilitating the cleaning operation.

While the invention has been described as embodied in a spray apparatus it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited but may be employed for use in other systems where particles of solid or liquid material are to be removed from a stream ofair. For example, in removing dust from an air current which carries no liquid substance, the chains may be covered with some adhesive compound to which particles of dust may attach themselves while the current of air asses through the exhaust ducts into the Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: 7

1. An eliminator comprising an air passage, a plurality ofrows of closely spaced depending chains in the passage, and means for supporting the chains to permit separate removal horizontally of any of the rows of chains as a unit and independently of the remainder.

2. An eliminator comprising a chamber adapted to be placed in an exhaust passage, a plurality of spaced inverted T supports secured at the top of the chamber, a plurality of T supports engagin with the inverted supports and adapted tolie placed and moved in the chamber by longitudinal sliding movement, and a plurality of chains depending from each of the removable T supports.

' 3. An eliminator comprising an air passage, a plurality of depending chains in the passage to intercept particles of foreign matter while permitting the flow of air through the passage, supports for the chains, each support carrying a plurality of chains and being longitudinally removable bodily with the chains attached.

4. An eliminator comprising a chamber adapted to be placed in an exhaust passage, a-plurality of rows of closely spaced chains in the chamber to permit the flow of air between the interstices thereof while serving to collect particles of solid or liquid matter, the chains of one row being staggered with respect to the chains in another row, T-supports on which the separate rows of chains are mounted, and means for supporting the T-supports constructed and arranged to permit the removal of one or more rows of chains by a longitudinal sliding movement of the -T-support along its supporting means and independently of the remaining supports and rows of chains.

5. An eliminator comprising a casin having an air passage, a plurality of sets 0 members located in the passage, the members being spaced to provide a multiplicity of passages for the flow of air and serving to collect foreign matter in the air current, supports slidingly mounted in the air passage each support carrying one of the sets of members pivoted therein, a series of stops for the lower ends of the members and extending transversely of the passage to prevent excessive forward and backward swaying of the members, the casing having provision for the removal of the supports and members by a sliding movement parallel to the line of the stops.

6. An eliminator comprising a casing having an air passage therethrough, a plurality of sets of removable members located in the passage, the members being spaced to provide a multiplicity of passages forthe flow of air and serving to collect particles of foreign matter in the air current, and a plurality of independently removable sliding supportsmounted in the top of the passage, each support carrying suspended therefrom one of the sets of members, the casing having an opening and closure therefor whereby the supports may be removed while carrying the members. c

7. An eliminator comprising a casing having an air passage therethrough and an opening in one side thereof, a closure for the opening, a plurality of rows of vertically supported chains, located in the air passage, the row'sextending transversely of the passage,

supporting means extending transversely of the passage and in alignment with the openings in the casing for normall supporting the rows of chains and for fac' 'tating their removal from the casing.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY N. MIDDLETON. 

